"Stone"" (1939). In 1937 there were two events of huge importance in Britten's life: his mother died, and he met the tenor Peter Pears. Although Britten was extraordinarily devoted to his mother and was devastated at her death, it also seems to have been something of a liberation for him. Only after that did he begin to engage in emotional relationships with people his own age or younger. Later in the year he got to know Pears while they were both helping to clear out the country cottage of a mutual friend who had died in an air crash. Pears"
"Peter Grimes Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the narrative poem, ""Peter Grimes"", in George Crabbe's book ""The Borough"". The ""borough"" of the opera is a fictional village which shares some similarities with Crabbe's, and later Britten's, own home of Aldeburgh, a town on England's east coast. It was first performed at Sadler's Wells in London on 7 June 1945, conducted by Reginald Goodall, and was the first of Britten's operas to be a critical and popular success. It is still widely performed, both in the UK and internationally, and"
"Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. His best-known works include the opera ""Peter Grimes"" (1945), the ""War Requiem"" (1962) and the orchestral showpiece ""The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra"" (1945). Born in Suffolk, the son of a dentist, Britten showed talent from an early age. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and privately with the composer"
"of the ""War Requiem"", ""Peter Grimes"" and other works in four continents. In the US the centennial events were described as ""coast to coast,"" with a Britten festival at Carnegie Hall, and performances at the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Notes References Sources Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. His best-known works include the opera ""Peter"
"had been specifically composed for the soprano voice. For Pears, Britten composed one of his most popular works, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (1943). In early 1943 Pears joined Sadler's Wells Opera Company. His roles included Tamino in ""The Magic Flute"", Rodolfo in ""La bohème"", the Duke in ""Rigoletto"", Alfredo in ""La traviata"", Almaviva in ""The Barber of Seville"", Ferrando in ""Così fan tutte"" and Vašek in ""The Bartered Bride"". His growing operatic experience and expertise affected the composition of Britten's opera ""Peter Grimes"". The composer had envisaged the central figure, based on Crabbe's brutal fisherman, as a"
"and his associates set up the English Opera Group; the librettist Eric Crozier and the designer John Piper joined Britten as artistic directors. The group's express purpose was to produce and commission new English operas and other works, presenting them throughout the country. Britten wrote the comic opera ""Albert Herring"" for the group in 1947. Pears played the title role – one of his fairly rare excursions into comedy. Reviews of the opera were mixed, but Pears's performance as Albert, the mother's boy who kicks over the traces, received consistently good notices. While on tour as Albert, Pears came up"
"Peter Graeme Graeme Peter Crump (1921 – 1 March 2012), known professionally as Peter Graeme and as 'Timmy' Crump to friends and family, was an English oboist and academic teacher. He was best known as the principal oboist of the Melos Ensemble. Peter Graeme studied the oboe with Léon Goossens. Graeme was the oboist of the Melos Ensemble, founded in 1950, and participated with the group in the premiere of the ""War Requiem"" by Benjamin Britten, conducted by the composer at the Coventry Cathedral in 1962. In 1954 he played English horn in a recording of Warlock's song cycle ""The"
"Brett Polegato Brett Polegato (born 1968 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada) is an operatic baritone. In 1999 he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Peter Niles in Levy's ""Mourning Becomes Electra"" followed by his La Scala debut in 2000 as Ned Keene in Britten's ""Peter Grimes"". He is particularly known for his interpretation of the title role in Debussy's ""Pelléas et Mélisande"" which he has performed with many companies including the Bavarian State Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Oper Leipzig, and Opéra National du Rhin among others. Other European appearances include Ubalde in Gluck's ""Armide"" at Opéra de"
"Jonathan Summers Jonathan Summers (born 2 October 1946) is an Australian operatic baritone. He sang the role of Captain Balstrode in the 1980 recording of Benjamin Britten's ""Peter Grimes"" which won a Grammy award for Best Opera recording. Summers was born in Melbourne and in that city studied art at Prahran Technical College (1964-9) and singing with Bettine McCaughan (1964–74). From 1970-1974, he worked as a technical operator and recording engineer with the Radio Division of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. In 1973 he won the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition. In 1974, he moved to London, where he studied with"
"the première of Britten's ""Peter Grimes"", in which work Cross created the leading female role of Ellen Orford. The other Britten roles that she created were: In the series of Decca recordings of his operas Britten conducted, Cross appeared only in the 1955 mono recording of ""The Turn of the Screw"", the other operas being recorded after her retirement from singing—namely ""Peter Grimes"" in 1958, ""Albert Herring"" in 1964 and ""The Rape of Lucretia"" in 1970. (""Gloriana"" was not commercially recorded until 1992, when Cross was aged 92.) However, archival recordings of her performances as Ellen Orford and the Female"
"performed with the Canadian Opera Company during its early years and was a leading tenor with the CBC Opera Company from 1949–1953. He notably portrayed the role of Bob Boles in the Canadian premiere of Benjamin Britten's ""Peter Grimes"" for the opening of the CBC Opera Company's second season with William Morton in the title role, Edmund Hockridge as Captain Balstrode, Frances James as Ellen Orford, and Eric Tredwell as Swallow. The production was awarded the Best Music Program prize at the 1950 Canadian Radio Awards Competition. In 1954 he portrayed the title role in the world premiere of Frederick"
"subject matter. The text is genuinely humorous, and the score, while matching the text in character, includes myriad musical quotations as well as some complex forms. Like ""Peter Grimes"" and other works by Britten, this opera explores society's reaction to an odd individual, although, in this case at least, it is from a generally humorous and lighthearted perspective. Some of Britten's contemporaries saw in the title character a satirical self-portrait of the composer. There are five audio recordings of ""Albert Herring"" and one DVD recording, with the following artists: Notes Additional sources Albert Herring Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a"
"Albert Herring Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten. Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera ""The Rape of Lucretia"". The libretto, by Eric Crozier, was based on Guy de Maupassant's novella ""Le Rosier de Madame Husson"", with the action transposed to an English setting. After having composed and staged ""The Rape of Lucretia"", Britten decided he should attempt a comedy, preferably set in England. Crozier suggested adapting the Maupassant short story ""Le rosier de Madame Husson"" and transplanting"
"operas. His popularity was confirmed by the several Sarie Awards he received for his records. Sarie Awards are made by the South African Recording Industry. His greatest operatic success was in the leading role in ""Peter Grimes"", an opera by Benjamin Britten . He also sang arias from ""Don Giovanni"" by Mozart, ""Cavalleria Rusticana"" by Mascagni, ""La Boheme"" by Puccini and from the Afrikaans opera ""In die Droogte"" by John Joubert. His repertoire also included extracts from the oratorios of Handel and Mendelssohn, Britten's ""War Requiem"", and the radiophonic opera ""Asterion"" by the Dutch composer Henk Badings based on the"
"in the radio-broadcast premiere of the revised two-act version. He became principal baritone at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, making his debut there in 1962. He also created the role of Patroclus in Tippett's opera ""King Priam"". He recorded as a baritone the role of Sid in Britten's ""Albert Herring"", conducted by the composer. He subsequently transferred to the tenor repertoire and became Covent Garden's resident principal tenor. A friend of Joan Sutherland's, he was a principal tenor with the Sutherland-Williamson Grand Opera Company in a 1965 tour of Australia. In 1966 he appeared in the sole recording of"
"the active repertory of performers than baroque works in this form"". Three composers especially identified with the passacaglia are Benjamin Britten, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Paul Hindemith. In his operas, Britten often uses a passacaglia to create the climactic moment of the drama. Examples are found in ""Peter Grimes"", ""Billy Budd"", ""The Turn of the Screw"", ""Death in Venice"", and even in the comic opera ""Albert Herring"". Britten also employed the form in smaller vocal forms, such as the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (1943) and ""The Holy Sonnets of John Donne"" (1945) for voice and piano, as well as"
"Peter Schneider and stage director Werner Herzog. After his Bayreuth debut, he performed at most of the major European opera houses, especially as Wagner's Lohengrin, Parsifal, Erik, and Walther von Stolzing, although he has sung a wide variety of lyric and heldentenor roles, including the title role in Britten's ""Peter Grimes"", Aeneas in Berlioz' ""Les Troyens"", Tamino in ""The Magic Flute"", Titus in ""La Clemenza di Tito"", and Corrado in Verdi's ""Il Corsaro""; he is also renowned as Florestan in ""Fidelio"" and Max in ""Der Freischütz"". He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1987 as"
"Topi Lehtipuu Topi Lehtipuu (born 24 March 1971 in Brisbane, Australia) is a Finnish operatic tenor. He has sung a variety of roles from different periods, including the title role in Benjamin Britten's ""Albert Herring"" at the Finnish National Opera, several roles in Mozart operas, including Belmonte in ""Die Entführung aus dem Serail"" and Tamino in ""Die Zauberflöte"", both at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, and Ferrando in ""Così fan tutte"" at the 2006 Glyndebourne Festival. He has also appeared in Handel's ""Ariodante"" (Paris Opera) and as Hylas in Berlioz' ""Les Troyens"" (conducted by John Eliot Gardiner). He has"
"Britten's ""Albert Herring"" (Decca), with the composer conducting, and his recording of ""Nessun Dorma"" from ""Turandot"" are all that remain to stir the memory. He married Nan (née Walters, died December 1998) on 19 August 1939. Their son Huw died in June 1999, and Evans had two grandchildren; Rebecca and Edward. Evans himself died in Northwick Park Hospital Harrow. Edgar Evans (tenor) Edgar Evans (9 June 191222 February 2007) was a Welsh opera singer. His most famous role was Hermann in Tchaikovsky's ""The Queen of Spades"" at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Evans was born in Cwrtnewydd, Cardiganshire, Wales."
"premiere of Benjamin Britten's ""Peter Grimes"" in 1949. From 1942-1951 he was a member of the CBC vocal quartet the Four Gentlemen which were a main feature of the radio program 'Carry On Canada'. William Morton (tenor) William Morton (born 27 September 1912) is a Canadian tenor opera director, and voice teacher born in Deloraine, Manitoba. He first studied singing with Alicia Birkett in Regina, and later with Albert Whitehead and James Rosselino in Toronto. He made his professional singing debut in 1932 and made his debut radio broadcast in 1933 on CKCK. He was a regular on CBC Radio"
"of the century included William Walton and Benjamin Britten. Their individual approaches to music and its part in the national identity differed significantly. Walton's work featured fanfares and patriotic themes, including the ceremonial marches ""Crown Imperial"", written for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and ""Orb and Sceptre"", for that of Queen Elizabeth II. Britten, on the other hand, made a conscious effort to set himself apart from the English musical mainstream, which he regarded as complacent, insular and amateurish. His works included the operas ""Peter Grimes"" (1945), and ""Billy Budd"" (1951), as well the instrumental compositions"
"not his own in which Britten was a somewhat dazzled accomplice"". The American public liked it, but the critics did not, and it fell into neglect until interest revived near the end of the composer's life. Britten's subsequent operas range from large-scale works written for full-strength opera companies, to chamber operas for performance by small touring opera ensembles or in churches and schools. In the large-scale category are ""Peter Grimes"" (1945), ""Billy Budd"" (1951), ""Gloriana"" (1953), ""A Midsummer Night's Dream"" (1960) and ""Death in Venice"" (1973). Of the remaining operas, ""The Rape of Lucretia"" (1946), ""Albert Herring"" (1947), ""The Little"
"Slater was selected by Benjamin Britten as librettist for his opera ""Peter Grimes"", which was based on ""Letter XXII: Peter Grimes"" in George Crabbe's poem ""The Borough"". For the libretto, Slater eschewed the traditional five-stress line form of English rhyming or blank verse in favour of a more modern and conversational four stress line with rhyming couplets. He argued that contemporary listeners were accustomed to assonance and consonantal rhyme but it could also be argued that this form of 'rough' rhyme was common in early English drama and that Slater was restoring it to the stage, rather than inventing something"
"characterization."" In 1967 he made a recording of Handel arias on Argo Eclipse with the Academy of St Martin-in-the -Fields cond. Philip Ledger. It is said that he had a considerable rivalry with Welsh bass-baritone Geraint Evans. He was born in Macclesfield and died in London. He married in 1952. Forbes Robinson Peter Forbes Robinson (21 May 192613 May 1987) was a British bass, born in Macclesfield, best known for his performances in works by Mozart, Verdi, and Britten. He created the title role in Michael Tippett's ""King Priam"". His recordings include the Philips recording with Sir Colin Davis of"
"Frank Bridge. Britten first came to public attention with the ""a cappella"" choral work ""A Boy was Born"" in 1934. With the premiere of ""Peter Grimes"" in 1945, he leapt to international fame. Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century composers in the genre. In addition to large-scale operas for Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden, he wrote ""chamber operas"" for small forces, suitable for performance in venues of modest size. Among the best known of these is ""The Turn of the Screw"" (1954). Recurring themes in his operas include"
"John Mitchinson (tenor) John Mitchinson (born 31 March 1932) is an English operatic tenor. Mitchison was born in Blackrod, Lancashire. He made his début singing the role of Jupiter in Handel's ""Semele"". From 1972 to 1978, he was associated with the Sadler's Wells opera company; during that time, he created the role of the Poet in Joseph Tal's opera ""Massada 967"" which premiered in 1972. In 1978 he joined the Welsh National Opera, with whom he worked for four years. Able to sing a variety of roles, he portrayed Peter Grimes and Tristan during this period, among others. Mitchison sang"
"and China. His repertoire includes Handel's ""Messiah"", Bach's Passions, Haydn's ""The Creation"", Britten's ""War Requiem"" and Elgar's ""Dream of Gerontius"". A review in the ""Wellington Post"" wrote about his performance as the Evangelist: ""Most remarkable of the soloists was David Hamilton. His words tumbled out as if he was dramatizing a remarkable event of last week with a voice of wide range and power and a particularly arresting top."" On the opera stage, he has performed in the title role of Britten's ""Albert Herring"", Tamino in Mozart's ""Die Zauberflöte"" and Loge in Wagner's ""Das Rheingold"". In 2007 he performed at"
"As a soloist he has appeared with The Bach Choir, the Bayreuth Festival Chorus with conductor Norbert Balatsch, the Monteverdi Choir under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and the Philharmonia Chorus. He has also appeared in operas, including appearances at the Teatro Comunale Florence, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, a portrayal of the title role in Benjamin Britten's ""Albert Herring"" at the Aldeburgh Festival, and in Cosi fan tutte, in London. In his native country, Butterfield has sung as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Nova Scotia, the Kingston Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the National"
"In 1949, Evans married the producer and librettist Eric Crozier, who became a co-founder of the Aldeburgh Festival with Britten and Peter Pears. Nancy Evans (opera singer) Nancy Evans OBE (19 March 1915 – 20 August 2000) was an English mezzo-soprano who had a notable career as a concert and opera singer. She is particularly associated with Benjamin Britten who wrote his song cycle, ""A Charm of Lullabies"", and the role of Nancy in his opera ""Albert Herring"" for her. Evans was born in Liverpool and educated at Calder High School for Girls there. After studying singing first with John"
"as a guest artist with major opera houses throughout Europe. Peter Cornelius (opera singer) Peter Cornelius (4 January 1865 – 30 December 1934) was a Danish opera singer. Born in 1865, Cornelius made his professional opera debut at the Royal Danish Theatre in 1892 as baritone in the role of Escamillo in Georges Bizet's ""Carmen"". He was a member of that theatre until his retirement from the stage in 1922. In 1899, he began performing tenor roles while still performing many roles from the baritone repertoire. After 1902 he was heard frequently in the leading Wagnerian heldentenor parts such as"
"four movements (""Preludio"", ""Scherzo"", ""Romanza"" and ""Passacaglia"") and includes two flutes (second doubling piccolo), oboe, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings. The Oregon Symphony's February 2012 performances were its first performances of Symphony No. 5. The recording continues with Britten's ""Four Sea Interludes"" and ""Passacaglia"". The four interludes (""Dawn"", ""Sunday morning"", ""Moonlight"" and ""Storm"") have been published separately as Opus 33a; ""Passacaglia"" has also been published separately as Opus 33b. ""Peter Grimes"" premiered on June 7, 1945, at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, conducted by Reginald Goodall. On June 13,"
"Benjamin Luxon Benjamin Matthew Luxon CBE (born 24 March 1937 in Redruth, Cornwall, UK) is a retired British baritone. He studied with Walther Gruner at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (while working part-time as a PE teacher in the East End) and established an international reputation as a singer when he won a third prize at the 1961 ARD International Music Competition in Munich. Soon afterward he joined composer Benjamin Britten's English Opera Group and on their tour of the Soviet Union in 1963 sang the roles of Sid and Tarquinius in, respectively, Britten's operas ""Albert Herring"" and"
"best known as an opera conductor and led memorable productions at the Hamburg State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera, the Rome Opera, the Frankfurt Opera, the Monte Carlo Opera and the Bastille Opera in Paris. He also conducted in 1988 Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's critically acclaimed production of Britten’s “Peter Grimes” at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Italy and in 1992 Ruth Berghaus’ famous production of Strauss’ “Rosenkavalier” in the Frankfurt Opera with Deborah Polaski debuting the role of the Marschallin. As a symphonic conductor, he led amongst others the Radio Orchestras of Berlin and Cologne, as well"